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Ticketmaster Acquires Festival Ticketer Front Gate

Ticketmaster announced it had acquired Front Gate Tickets shortly after Live Nation purchased the ticketing platform Universe. The announcements signal Live Nation's plans to tap into the festival market, entering into competition with Anshutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which currently produces some of the world's largest festivals, including Coachella and the New Orleans JazzFest. AEG previously was expected to acquire Front Gate prior to Ticketmaster's announcement. Front Gate is one of the leading festival ticketing services in North America, and it offers radio-frequency identification wristbands, cashless systems, and innovative marketing tools to improve the fan experience. Universe also provides do-it-yourself ticketing and marketing and management tools that Live Nation expects will help significantly increase its sales. Although some observers have raised antitrust concerns, Live Nation announced it already cleared the Front Gate and Universe acquisitions with the U.S. Department of Justice. "We are dedicated to maintaining Front Gate's fan-focused philosophy and targeted festival-specific functionality," says Ticketmaster North America president Jared Smith. "Universe's advanced DIY ticketing and event marketing platform will not only provide event organizers with amazing tools to manage their events, but their plug-and-play distributed commerce and analytics products will also benefit clients across the entire Ticketmaster portfolio, including festivals."